Man bitten by fish in Gulf after fall off personal watercraft near Flora-Bama

ORANGE BEACH, Alabama -- A man was bitten by a fish, possibly a barracuda, after falling off a personal watercraft into the Gulf of Mexico this afternoon near the Flora-Bama Lounge, authorities said.

The unidentified man was airlifted to Baptist Hospital in Pensacola, Fla., and was treated there for a bite to the ankle that was not considered life-threatening, Orange Beach Fire Chief Forney Howard told the Press-Register.

Dismissing early reports that a shark may have been responsible, Howard said be believed that a barracuda attacked the man after he fell into the water. Howard said the man was able to get back on the watercraft and come ashore to get help. The incident happened at about 3 p.m., he said.

The barracuda is an aggressive predator that is common to warm waters in many parts of the world, including the Gulf of Mexico. It can grow to more than 40 pounds.

Attacks by fish have been infrequent in the past 11 years, but there have been 3 significant incidents off the Alabama coast that severely injured people since 2000. All of those incidents involved sharks.

Trenton Martin, 7, was bitten while wading at the Gulf State Public Beach in July of 2004. Kimberly McLean, 28, was bitten 65 miles south of Orange beach in the Gulf of Mexico while swimming during a fishing trip in August 2002. And former Robertsdale football coach Chuck Anderson lost a third of his right arm to a shark attack while training for a triathlon in the gulf at Gulf Shores in June 2000. None of the attacks, however, proved fatal.